As someone who’s forgotten what day it is, several times since the pandemic started, I can appreciate Memoranda. It’s a point-and-click game about people slowly forgetting things, helpless as their sanity, their loved ones, or their keys get lost in their long-term memory banks. And it’s out now on Xbox One and Nintendo Switch.
Previously available on PC via Steam, in Memoranda you play a young woman who gradually forgets her name. It’s distressing, and she’s on a journey to recover it, which takes her through a magic-realist world that references the works of Haruki Murakami (Norwegian Wood, Kafka on the Shore). There’s clearly more to this mystery, as the problem is not solely with her. Is there something in the world that’s making her feel this way?
If you’re a fan of point-and-clicks, this will be for you. We’re taken with the painterly art style, mixed with real textiles. It’s like Broken Sword, but with the seam unpicked and the fluff coming out. It’s got a raggedy, collage feel, and it looks right up this personal reviewer’s alley.
The characters aren’t conventional, which adds to the dreamy state. There seems to be people from your past, a World War II veteran and – of course – an elephant taking shelter in a man’s cottage.
Features include:
- A classic 2D point-and-click adventure game set in a magical realism setting
- Unique and beautiful hand-drawn full-HD 2D graphics
- Inspired by Haruki Murakami’s short stories
- Original soundtrack with more than 15 tracks
- Thousands of dialogue lines with English voice over
- Meet more than 35 characters in 40 different locations
- Languages: English, French, German, Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese
We gave this one a review a few days back so go and check it out. Our reviewer, Gareth Brierley, found some aspects of the story and puzzles too surreal, but was taken with the world that was created.
Memoranda is out now on Xbox One and will cost you £12.49. It’s also out on Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam.
Game Description:
Memoranda is a game about forgetting and being forgotten! A point and click adventure game with magic realism elements that tells the story of a young woman who gradually realizes that she is forgetting her own name. But is she really losing her memory, or is there something else that could explain the strange situation? The beautiful hand-drawn adventure takes place in a quiet little town where a few ordinary people live together with some more unusual characters. From a World War II veteran to an elephant taking shelter in a man’s cottage hoping to become a human, everyone in Memoranda has one thing in common: they are all on the verge of losing something. It could be a name, a loved one or even their own sanity! The story is inspired by various Haruki Murakami short stories that describe a surreal world full of lonely characters.
